Interactions of social,spatial and hormonal factors on the behavior of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) |
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Authors: | Richard P Michael Doris Zumpe |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, P. O. Box AF, 30322 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.;(2) The Georgia Mental Health Institute, USA |
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Abstract: | In a three year study, the interactions of social, spatial and hormonal variables on the behavior of rhesus monkeys were investigated.
Observations were made on (1) an oppositelysexed pair alone in a cage; (2) the pair alone in a large room; and (3) the pair
together with three ovariectomized females in the same large room. Each of four males was tested with the same group of four
ovariectomized females (16 pairs, 480 1-hr tests). Each female served in turn as the focal female, namely, the hormone-treated
one, and received first estradiol benzoate (EB) alone and then in combination with progesterone (P). The presence of three
other females (the social variable) had a marked effect on all aspects of the behavior of the focal pair, and reduced the
male's ejaculations as well as other sexual and affiliative interactions with the focal female. This was due to an inhibitory
influence exerted by the dominant female on the interactions of subordinate females with the male. Comparing data from two
groups of females showed that female dominance rank, and not male sexual preference, was the critical factor, and that mate
competition between female rhesus monkeys was operating. Decreasing the space available for the interactions of the pair appeared
to imitate a bonding effect in the male, increasing male grooming and tending to increase male sexual activity. In the group
setting, treating the female with EB increased sexual activity, and additional progesterone decreased it in all three test
settings. The effects of progesterone were most clearly apparent when the pair was tested alone in a large area. |
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